Hadijah Nampina of Uganda is one of those whose lives are being changed by Boulder-based BeadforLife. Photo: Provided by BeadforLife

The Boulder-based nonprofit BeadforLife is the winner of More magazine’s 2012 Job Genius Award and will use the $20,000 prize to expand its mission of helping impoverished Ugandan women to change their lives through their own hard work, creating markets for their bead jewelry and shea butter beauty items.

The announcement appears in the magazine’s December/January issue, which is on newsstands now.

Ten organizations that are creating jobs for women took part in the competition, with the winner selected by votes cast on the magazine’s website.

“Thousands voted and BeadforLife came out on top, earning $20,000 to help Ugandan women overcome extreme poverty, disease, war and hardship by empowering them to rebuild their lives,” notes BeadforLife executive director Devin Hibbard. “Impoverished Ugandan women achieve this through their own hard work rolling beads to create jewelry, harvesting shea nuts for butter to create beauty items and ultimately, launching their own businesses that will sustain them into the future.

“If we can educate a new woman to expand her business, that is the greatest gift we can offer, as it will sustain her family into the future,” Hibbard adds.